Senior PR & Communications Manager - Justworks
Who We Are
At Justworks, you’ll enjoy a welcoming and casual environment, great benefits, wellness program offerings, company retreats, and the ability to interact with and learn from leaders in the startup community. We work hard and care about our most prized asset - our people.
We’re helping businesses get off the ground by enabling them to focus on running their business. We solve HR issues. We’re data-driven and never stop iterating. If you’d like to work in a supportive, entrepreneurial environment, are interested in building something meaningful and having fun while doing it, we’d love to hear from you.
We're united by shared goals and shared motivations at Justworks. These are best summed up in our company values, which are reflected in our product and in our team.
Our Values
If this sounds like you, you’ll fit right in.
Who You Are
Do you roll your eyes when you see “The Future of Work” appended to hypotheticals in the news? Are you more interested in the story of work today and how it’s changing for real founders and their teams? Justworks has been at the cutting edge of how people start, run, and join growing businesses for over ten years—and we’re just getting started.
As Senior PR & Communications Manager, you are a key part of Justworks’ Communications Team, overseeing PR, thought leadership, and our Speaker’s Bureau. You will also serve as a deputy to the Director of Communications on Corporate Communications related duties. In this role, you will manage the company’s relationship with our PR firm of record, Small Girls PR, and partner closely with them to generate brand awareness and buzz. You will ideate, develop, and drive a successful PR, Thought Leadership, and Speaker’s Bureau strategy—analyzing what we have done to date and bringing new ideas to the table. You will come up with integrated campaigns that push the envelope (and earn the buy-in of your peers) and lead proactive outreach around our product, brand, customer storytelling, and executive thought leadership platforms. You will put yourself out there to build Justworks’ external visibility with the media and key audiences at relevant events via proactive outreach, pitching, and regular contact with your existing network. This role reports to the Director of Communications.
In short, you're equal parts writer, storyteller, news junkie, and a media relations pro with a solid existing network. You have a knack for working cross-functionally with executives and colleagues at all levels. You have a strategic mindset and strong project management skills, and do your best work under tight deadlines.
Your Success Profile
What You Will Work On
PR & Thought Leadership
- Own Justworks’ relationship with our external public relations firm, Small Girls PR
- Ideate, develop and drive a successful media relations strategy—analyzing what we have done to date and bringing new ideas to create news to the table
- Create PR campaigns that push the envelope (and earn the buy-in of your peers)
- Manage the media storytelling process end-to-end, overseeing direct reports and partnering with our PR firm to identify angles and targets, create assets like abstracts, pitches, and briefers, and prepare our spokespeople around key messages and Q&A
- Proactively build and nurture effective relationships with national and local tech and business reporters, as well as advise on how to break into new beats to reach the small business ecosystem
- Own and execute our data PR strategy, working with external polling/research agencies to develop surveys and reports for media consumption
- Write wire-ready press releases and craft media messaging for product launches and other key company news
- Oversee written Q&As and ghostwrite op-eds for press opportunities on topics across benefits, HR, business, and more; revise and edit op-eds with executives
- Work with our PR firm to evaluate and coordinate inbound press and interview requests with an eye to our strategic priorities, media themes, and storylines
- Ensure PR resources and processes are updated and easily accessible to key stakeholders (media list database, briefing materials, executive bios, executive headshots, fact sheets, etc.)
- Follow the news and keep us informed of industry trends, competitor activity, and news-jacking opportunities
- Ideate and manage the execution of PR-driven brand activations and manage associated budget
Speaker’s Bureau
- Oversee executive-level thought leadership and company-wide speaking opportunities end-to-end (aka Speaker’s Bureau)
- Ideate and execute thought leadership for owned brand events, including identification of executive and/or non-executive spokespeople and customer/partner/etc.outreach to secure participants, working closely with our Events, Field Marketing, and Partnerships teams
- Work with Events, Field Marketing, Content, Sales, BD, TA, and others to identify appropriate spokespeople for speaking engagements at sponsored (non-owned) events
- Develop thought leadership talk tracks, moderator scripts, support visual aid creation, and host presentation prep sessions
- Develop media strategy for events, work with SGPR to invite relevant contacts, create on-the-ground experience to support relationship building and brand awareness with key media outlets and influencers
- Staff events for on-the-ground thought leadership and spokesperson support support
- Support speaker experience across owned channels (e.g. webinar, content) and internal channels (e.g. internal panels, super all hands) as appropriate
Corporate Communications
- Oversee processes and materials related to executing our PR, thought leadership, and speaker’s bureau programs (e.g. thought leadership log, executive speaker toolkits, moderator best practices, media training)
- Support Director, Communications in crisis communications
- Oversee a comprehensive approach for measuring and reporting on our PR, thought leadership, and speaker’s bureau strategies’ impact as it relates to building brand brand awareness and shaping perception in the marketplace
- Perform other related duties as assigned
How You Will Do Your Work
As Senior PR & Communications Manager how results are achieved is paramount for your success and ultimately results in our success as an organization. In this role, your foundational knowledge, skills, abilities, and personal attributes are anchored in the following competencies:
- Business insight - applying knowledge of Justworks and the marketplace to advance the organization’s goals.
- Functional expertise - subject matter expertise of PR and media relations, including knowledge of principles, practices, and domain knowledge.
- Resourcefulness - taking a can-do approach, even in the face of obstacles and constraints by assessing what’s in front of you and effectively and efficiently optimizing what you have, whether it's working on something new or thinking about how to do something better.
- Builds networks - effectively building formal and informal relationship networks inside and outside the organization.
- Clear communication - the ability to articulate thoughts and express ideas effectively using oral, written, visual, and non-verbal communication skills and listening skills to gain understanding.
In addition, all Justworkers focus on aligning their behaviors to our core values known as COGIS. It stands for:
- Camaraderie - Day to day, you can be seen working together toward a higher purpose. You like to have fun. You’re an active listener, treat people respectfully, and have a strong desire to know and help others.
- Openness - Your default is to be open. You're willing to share information, understand other perspectives, and consider new possibilities. You’re curious, ask open questions, and are receptive to thoughts and feedback from others.
- Grit - You demonstrate grit by having the courage to commit and persevere. You’re committed, earnest, and dive in to get the job done well with a positive attitude.
- Integrity - Simply put, do what you say and say what you'll do. You’re honest and forthright, have a strong moral compass, and strive to match your words with your actions while leading by example.
- Simplicity - Be like Einstein: “Everything should be made as simple as possible, but no simpler.”
Qualifications
- 6+ years of external communications and media relations experience, with at least 4 years in an in-house role (ideally at a B2B/tech company)
- Bachelor’s degree in English, Communications, Journalism, or related field
- Experience managing an external PR agency, driving strategy, and achieving results
- Proven track record securing impactful media coverage (we will ask for samples)
- Existing network of relevant media contacts
- Excellent organizational, written, and oral communication skills, as well as an aptitude for independent project management and execution
- Ability to multitask, prioritize, and execute top-notch work against tight deadlines
- Creative thinker who comes to the table with conversation-driven story ideas and media angles
- Familiarity with PR reporting and media database tools, such as Muck Rack, Cision, PR Newswire, etc.
- Comfortable working with data or willing to learn/ask for help
- Passion for entrepreneurship is a plus
- Knowledge of AP style with a willingness to use the Oxford comma
The base wage range for this position based in our New York City Office is targeted at $122,000.00 to $134,200.00 per year.
#LI-Hybrid #LI-AM2
Actual compensation is based on multiple factors that are unique to each candidate, including and not limited to skill set, level of relevant experience, and specific work location. Salary ranges for positions based in other locations may differ based on the cost of labor in that location.
For more information about Justworks’ Total Reward Philosophy, including all of the perks and benefits we are proud to offer our team members, please visit Total Rewards @ Justworks.
Diversity At Justworks
Justworks is committed to maintaining a workplace where diversity of identity, culture, and life experience is the norm and is celebrated authentically and respected consistently. Diversity in our work, our people, and our product drives creativity and innovation, entrepreneurial leadership and integrity, competitiveness, and collaboration throughout our business and in the market. We depend on our differences to make our team stronger, our workplace more dynamic, and our product accessible to all of our customers.
We’re proud to be an equal opportunity employer open to all qualified applicants regardless of race, color, ancestry, religion, sex, national origin, sexual orientation, age, citizenship, marital or familial status, disability, pregnancy, gender identity or expression, veteran status, genetic information, or any other legally protected status. Justworks is fully dedicated to providing necessary support to candidates with disabilities who may require reasonable accommodations. We also provide reasonable accommodations to employees based on their sincerely held religious beliefs, as well as for other covered reasons consistent with applicable federal, state, and local laws. If you're in need of a reasonable accommodation, please reach out to us at accommodations@justworks.com. Your comfort and success matter to us, and we're here to ensure an inclusive experience.
Our DEIB Report and Our DEI Commitment
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